Better than Mbappe? Spurs and Newcastle target Fofana branded Ligue 1’s best

Robin Bairner

• 23 Apr 2022 14:43 BST
• 3 min read

Lens midfielder Seko Fofana has been linked with a transfer to a string of Premier League clubs this summer, with Tottenham and Newcastle among the frontrunners.

Leicester and Aston Villa are also watching the Paris-born star, who is likely to move for upwards of €20 million in the summer.

The 26-year-old has been making waves on the European scene for several years now but finally appears ready to step into the spotlight with a big-money moved to England – a country he knows well, having come through the ranks at Manchester City before making his professional debut on loan at Fulham.

Since then, he has turned out for Bastia, also on loan, before really catching fire in Serie A with Udinese. His game, though, has gone up a level since moving back to France, where he was born.

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Is Fofana the new Yaya Toure?

Signed for a club record fee of €10m by Lens in 2020, he is not just one of Ligue 1’s best midfielders, he is one of its brightest stars.

“Fofana is one of the best players, if not the best player in the league. He could play for anybody,” Marseille head coach Jorge Sampaoli said earlier in 2022. “Since I arrived at OM, he’s the player that has impressed me every weekend and he plays at a consistently high level.”

Though often compared to Yaya Toure because of his physique and the fact that he plays his international football for Ivory Coast, he is a more forward-thinking player than the Manchester City and Barcelona legend.

Fofana has been operating in a very attacking central midfield role this season and is ranked among the best players in the league in his role for dribbling, finishing and offensive positioning.

Unlike Toure, he is not a particularly accomplished defensive player, despite boasting an impressive physique and tremendous athleticism. Fofana uses this more impressively to punch holes in opposing defences with runs from midfield, which is an element of his game that echoes Yaya.

Utilised in the correct manner, though, Fofana has shown himself to be a highly effective performer. He needs to be given a liberal role in the heart of the midfield, where he can be stationed beyond his colleagues, and there must be an understanding that he plays alongside a steady defensive partner.

Newcastle have seen the impact that Bruno Guimaraes has had since arriving from Lyon in January, and while Fofana is not as all-action as the Brazil international, he has the capacity to make a similar impression in the Premier League.